Eli Lilly is doubling down on artificial intelligence with a new research agreement worth over $100 million with Insilico Medicine, aiming to accelerate the discovery of novel therapies.
The Indianapolis-based pharma giant will integrate Insilico’s Pharma.AI platform—an end-to-end technology designed to support pharmaceutical research and development—with its own capabilities to collaboratively discover and develop new drugs, according to a November 10 announcement.
Under the agreement, Insilico will help generate and design candidate compounds targeting previously unknown disease targets. The Massachusetts-based biotech could receive over $100 million in upfront, milestone, and tiered royalty payments, according to the press release.
This is not Lilly’s first collaboration with Insilico. The two companies had previously signed a software licensing agreement in 2023 to use the AI company’s technology, though that earlier deal was not publicly announced. The renewed and expanded partnership suggests Lilly was encouraged by the initial results and is now deepening its engagement through this new research contract.
According to the announcement, Lilly “has been a long-term ally of our Pharma.AI software suite, and this new collaboration further acknowledges the potential of Insilico as an AI-driven pharmaceutical discovery engine, as well as reinforcing our long-standing relationship with Lilly.”
In March, Insilico—recognized in the Fierce 15 and Fierce 50 lists—raised $110 million to advance its AI-driven drug discovery platforms. The company has also deployed a humanoid laboratory robot designed to automate and accelerate laboratory research tasks.
Insilico claims its technology can significantly shorten drug discovery timelines, with an average of 12–18 months from project initiation to the nomination of a preclinical candidate. Between 2021 and 2024, the company reports having identified 20 preclinical candidates.
Its most advanced asset is a computer-designed drug now moving toward pivotal trials after a Phase 2a study showed improvement in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
The company says it remains focused on developing novel therapies for fibrosis, oncology, immunology, pain, obesity, and metabolic disorders—areas with significant unmet medical needs.
Lilly joins a growing list of pharmaceutical companies partnering with Insilico, including Sanofi, Pfizer, Menarini Group, and Boehringer Ingelheim.
This latest deal also aligns with Lilly’s broader efforts to strengthen its in-house AI capabilities. In late October, the company announced a collaboration with Nvidia to build a new supercomputer designed as an “AI factory”—a computing infrastructure capable of processing massive datasets, training models on experimental results from Lilly scientists, and generating insights to speed up drug development.
The new computing power will support molecule discovery and shorten development timelines. Lilly is also making some of its AI models available through Lilly TuneLab, the company’s machine learning platform. TuneLab allows early-stage biotechs to access Lilly’s models in exchange for contributing training data that help refine and expand the platform.
Participating companies include macrocycle therapy developer Circle Pharma and AI-driven drug discovery firm Insitro.
Insilico and Eli Lilly Launch a Major AI-Driven Drug Discovery Collaboration
AI-biotech company Insilico has taken a major stride forward in its mission to revolutionize drug discovery by entering into a new research and licensing collaboration with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly). Under the terms of the deal, Insilico will combine its proprietary Pharma.AI platform with Lilly’s drug-development and disease-research expertise to jointly identify, design, and optimise novel therapeutic compounds.
The agreement offers Insilico potential payments in excess of $100 million, covering upfront fees, milestone payments and tiered royalties on future sales of any commercialised products. PR Newswire+2vcbeatglobal.com+2
Why This Matters
For Insilico, the deal underscores its growing influence in the AI-powered drug discovery space. Insilico’s Pharma.AI system has reportedly cut early-stage discovery timelines significantly, reducing typical 3-6 year processes down to about 12-18 months per program. EurekAlert!+1
For Lilly, the collaboration signals a stronger commitment to integrating generative AI into its R&D pipeline, seeking to harness Insilico’s advanced data and chemistry platforms to accelerate therapeutic innovation.
